Bidders claw for chance to eat or free Big Dee Dee
SHEDIAC - A nationwide bidding war has begun to boil over a 100 year-old, 10-kilogram Bay of Fundy lobster, currently wading in a Shediac fish store tank.
An Ontario woman slapped down $3,500, eyeing a family feast. A Vancouver woman, who would fly to New Brunswick to release "Big Dee-Dee," said she needs the weekend to rally donations to become the highest bidder.
It's now the environmentalists versus the meat eaters for the rights to the ancient crustacean caught earlier this month.
"I never thought it would get this popular," said Denis Breau, owner of aptly named Big Fish, a seafood shop in Shediac. "I've had to rethink things when this started to go national."
Breau originally bought the lobster from his usual buyer, astonished by the size and age of the sea creature. He then sold it to a local restaurant but then backed away from the deal after his phone began to ring with offers.
At first they were small, but after a television newscast made the story national, a bidding war shot the price up.
"In Ontario, they want to cook it for a big luncheon," said Breau.
Their offer now stands at $3,500 as of Friday afternoon. That price may even double by the time an Aug. 6 auction close date comes.
Big Dee-Dee could feed about 16 people, said Breau.
Lobsters go for $8.99 a pound in his store, meaning this particular lobster would retail for around $200.
"It's kind of crazy, for sure," Breau said. "But some people want to pay the price to either release him or have a big party."
Vancouver resident Laura-Leah Shaw saw the newscast and immediately sought out Breau's store to make a bid to buy the lobster in efforts to return him to the sea.
Shaw was displeased with the new $3,500 bid Friday, but said there is no ceiling to how much she will bid to return the lobster to the Atlantic.
"This just doesn't seem right, and I don't mean to mess with the eastern economy, but it's just such a cruel practice," said Shaw, a realtor in British Columbia.
"I'm hoping to gain some momentum now to gather funds to free it."
Shaw said a website, a Facebook group and ways people can donate will be set up this weekend.
Breau said that calls such as Shaw's has even had him rethink selling the lobster. There has been other Ontario offers to free the lobster as well.
"Some people want me to put it back in the water, so I am debating giving it to a marine biologist too," he said.
"I just want to do the best for the business. I don't want it to have a bad name if people are saying, 'Oh, you should have put him back in the water.'"
Until the August deadline, the lobster will remain on display in the shops only tank.
More than 1,000 people have visited the store since the lucky catch was brought in.
While the Bay of Fundy lobster is the oldest and largest Breau has ever seen, according to Guinness World Records, the largest lobster was caught in Nova Scotia, weighing in at double Big Dee-Dee's mass, at 20.14 kg.
The oldest lobster is more difficult to determine, as over a century ago, lobsters reportedly lived well over 100 years.
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